PUSH BUTTON RONGEUR
Disclosed is a Rongeur for surgical use. The disclosed Rongeur has a push button actuator which, upon activation, allows the long parts of the Rongeur to be easily separated for thorough cleaning and sterilization for reuse.
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This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/419,344 filed Feb. 3, 2015, which is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/US2013/053192 filed Aug. 1, 2013, which claims the benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/679,316 filed Aug. 3, 2012.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORTNone.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to the field of medical instruments. Specifically, the present invention relates to an improved Rongeur having a push button actuator to allow the separation of its long parts to facilitate improved cleaning and sterilization.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTIn surgical procedures, a Rongeur is used to remove a small amount of tissue or bone material. Critical to the reuse of Rongeurs in successive procedures is the need to thoroughly clean the instrument of biological material and other contamination so as to thoroughly sterilize the instrument. A number of Rongeurs have been developed to facilitate the cleaning and sterilization of their various components. Designs for these Rongeurs include making them able to be disassembled, cleaned and sterilized, and reassembled for subsequent use. This requires skilled technicians and an extended time for cleaning. More recently, a Rongeur has been developed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,531, Weber) which allows the long parts of the Rongeur to be totally separated from each other such that the top long part of the Rongeur remains attached at an obtuse angle to the body of the Rongeur by an attachment means. While this is clearly an improvement over Rongeurs requiring disassembly and reassembly, it presents a complex design requiring, among other things, the release of its drive pin from its driving slot.
Accordingly, there is a need for a Rongeur that is simplified in structure with fewer parts, yet facilitates cleaning and sterilization for subsequent use by allowing direct access to the long parts of the Rongeur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a Rongeur with a simpler, more elegant design with fewer parts which allows direct access to the parts in need of cleaning and sterilization by allowing the separation of those parts with a push button actuator.
In the present disclosure, a Rongeur is presented having a fixed bottom shaft and a movable top shaft (the long parts). The top shaft is slideably connected to and axially aligned with the fixed bottom shaft. The top shaft has a distal end with a cutting portion and a proximal end containing a cavity across which a drive pin is connected. Once the Rongeur is assembled, the drive pin remains captured by the driving hole of the front handle. When the push button actuator is activated, the movable top shaft is retracted slightly to allow the separation of the movable top shaft from the fixed bottom shaft to an acute angle there between. This allows full and direct access to the long parts for cleaning and sterilization.
Some embodiments of the present approach may take the form of a Rongeur with a top shaft with a proximal end having a cutting edge and a distal end hingedly connected to a front handle, the top shaft configured for sliding engagement with a bottom shaft having a rear handle at a distal end, the front handle pivotally connected to the rear handle and configured for a retracted position, a first extended position, and a second extended position. The retracted position may be configured to slide the top shaft proximally such that the cutting edge approaches a proximal end of the bottom shaft. The first extended position may be configured to slide the top shaft distally a first distance. The second extended position may be configured to slide the top shaft distally a second distance greater than the first distance. The Rongeur may have a push button actuator having a biased position and an actuated position, the biased position configured to block the second extended position, and the actuated position configured to permit the second extended position. Some embodiments may incorporate a slot and corresponding protrusion that form a sliding connection between the top and bottom shafts. In some embodiments, for example, the Rongeur has a bottom shaft comprising at least one slot which is configured to receive at least one corresponding protrusion, wherein the corresponding protrusion extends away from a bottom surface of the top shaft. In some embodiments, the protrusion is T-shaped. In some embodiments, the push button actuator includes a groove configured to receive a portion of the front handle when in the actuated position. The push button actuator may include a compression spring which maintains the push button actuator in a normal position while the Rongeur is in use and which is depressed to activate the push button actuator. The Rongeur may have a front handle that includes a drive hole on its proximal end. The drive hole may be elongated to allow movement of a drive pin attached to the top shaft while the top shaft is in a released position. The drive pin may remain in the drive hole while the Rongeur is in use and when the top shaft is separated from the bottom shaft.
While the present invention is directed to a more simplified Rongeur requiring fewer parts, while facilitating cleaning and sterilization, it may apply to various other specific types of Rongeurs. Moreover, the present invention also applies to other types of medical instruments that have inaccessible surfaces that are difficult to properly clean or sterilize.
Some embodiments may include a slot and corresponding protrusion that form a sliding connection between the top and bottom shafts. One shaft may include a slot, and another shaft may include a protrusion configured to be received in the shaft. When the slot and protrusion are mated, the top and bottom shafts may slide axially, but the cross-sectional shape of the shaft and the protrusion may be configured to retain the protrusion within the shaft. For example, both may have a T-shape. It should be appreciated that other shapes may be used. This interlocking configuration prevents the top shaft from disconnecting. The shaft may include a wide region configured to allow the protrusion to exit the slot, such as when it is desired to release the top shaft for cleaning purposes.
Depicted in
Shown in
After cleaning, top shaft (10) is returned to contact with fixed bottom shaft (1), compression spring (21) returns push button actuator (20) to its normal position, and the Rongeur is ready for use (
The foregoing detail of the disclosed embodiment of the push button Rongeur is not intended as a limitation on other configurations of the push button actuator which may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed invention as defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. A Rongeur comprising:
- a top shaft with a proximal end having a cutting edge and a distal end hingedly connected to a front handle, the top shaft configured for sliding engagement with a bottom shaft having a rear handle at a distal end when in a closed position, and to hinge open at the hinged connection when in a released position;
- the front handle pivotally connected to the rear handle and configured for a retracted position, a first extended position, and a second extended position;
- the retracted position configured to slide the top shaft proximally such that the cutting edge approaches a proximal end of the bottom shaft;
- the first extended position configured to slide the top shaft distally a first distance;
- the second extended position configured to slide the top shaft distally a second distance greater than the first distance and position the top shaft into the released position; and
- a push button actuator having a biased position and an actuated position, the biased position configured to block the second extended position, the actuated position configured to permit the second extended position.
2. The Rongeur of claim 1, wherein one of the top shaft and the bottom shaft comprises at least one slot configured to receive a corresponding protrusion, and the other of the top shaft and the bottom shaft comprises the corresponding protrusion; wherein the corresponding protrusion is configured to slidably mate with the slot when the top shaft is in the closed position.
3. The Rongeur of claim 2, wherein the protrusion is T-shaped.
4. The Rongeur of claim 1, wherein the push button actuator comprises a groove configured to receive a portion of the front handle when in the actuated position.
5. The Rongeur of claim 1, wherein the front handle comprises a drive hole on its proximal end, wherein the drive hole is elongated to allow movement of a drive pin attached to the top shaft while the top shaft is in the released position, thereby permitting the top shaft to hinge open to at least an acute angle from the bottom shaft when the push button actuator is in the actuated position.
6. The Rongeur of claim 5, wherein the drive pin remains within the drive hole while the Rongeur is in use and when the top shaft is separated from the bottom shaft for cleaning and sterilization.
7. The Rongeur of claim 1, wherein the push button actuator further comprises a compression spring which maintains the push button actuator in a normal position while the Rongeur is in use and which is depressed to activate the push button actuator.
8. A Rongeur comprising:
- a top shaft with a proximal end having a cutting edge and a distal end hingedly connected to a front handle, the top shaft configured for sliding engagement with a bottom shaft having a rear handle at a distal end when in a closed position, and to hinge open at the hinged connection when in a released position;
- the front handle pivotally connected to the rear handle and configured for a retracted position, a first extended position, and a second extended position;
- the retracted position configured to slide the top shaft proximally such that the cutting edge approaches a proximal end of the bottom shaft;
- the first extended position configured to slide the top shaft distally a first distance;
- the second extended position configured to slide the top shaft distally a second distance greater than the first distance and position the top shaft into the released position;
- a push button actuator having a biased position and an actuated position, the biased position configured to block the second extended position, the actuated position configured to permit the second extended position; and
- one of the top shaft and the bottom shaft comprises a slot configured to receive a corresponding protrusion, and the other of the top shaft and the bottom shaft comprises the corresponding protrusion;
- wherein the corresponding protrusion is configured to slidably mate with the slot when the top shaft is in the closed position.
9. The Rongeur of claim 8, wherein the push button actuator further comprises a compression spring which maintains the push button actuator in a normal position while the Rongeur is in use and which is depressed to activate the push button actuator.
10. The Rongeur of claim 8, wherein the corresponding protrusion is configured to release from the slot when the top shaft is in the released position.
11. The Rongeur of claim 10, wherein the slot comprises a wide region configured to allow the corresponding protrusion to release from the slot when the top shaft is in the released position and hinged open.
12. The Rongeur of claim 8, wherein the push button actuator further comprises a compression spring which maintains the push button actuator in a normal position while the Rongeur is in use and which is depressed to activate the push button actuator.
13. The Rongeur of claim 8, wherein the push button actuator comprises a groove configured to receive a portion of the front handle when in the actuated position.
14. The Rongeur of claim 8, wherein the front handle comprises a drive hole on its proximal end, wherein the drive hole is elongated to allow movement of a drive pin attached to the top shaft while the top shaft is in the released position, thereby permitting the top shaft to hinge open to at least an acute angle from the bottom shaft when the push button actuator is in the actuated position.
15. The Rongeur of claim 14, wherein the drive pin remains within the drive hole while the Rongeur is in use and when the top shaft is separated from the bottom shaft for cleaning and sterilization.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 11, 2017
Publication Date: May 3, 2018
Patent Grant number: 10507027
Applicant: Boss Instruments Ltd., Inc. (Gordonsville, VA)
Inventors: Berndt Fetzer (Schaumburg, IL), Peter Fetzer (Oehningen-Wangen)
Application Number: 15/837,697